in-person classes just days after reopening. plus could a new saliva test just approved by the fda be the key to getting rapid results? are new series the new normal, back to school, a look at schools in one hot zone where the question remains should children be required to wear a mask in class? dangerous heat, thousands evacuated amid raging wildfires out west. and 40 million people face the worst heat in years. now threatening california's power grid. with residents are doing to escape an energy emergency. will lori locklin get prison time? federal prosecutors today say she should calling her fully complicit in the college cheating scandal. will the judge agree. and the ballet star who battled stereotypes on stage and is now blazing new tras.>> ts is the cs

with norah o'donnell. reporting from the nation's capitol. >> o'donnell: good evening, and thank you for joining us, we're going to begin with the first night of the democratic national convention and what will be an unth docks political event brought on by an unprecedented pandemic. the coronavirus crisis is not only changed how tonight's speeches will be given, but what they will focus on. over the next four nights democrats will appear virtually without the pomp and sirks we're used to seeing, where they will argue that joe biden and kamala harris uniquely qualified to take on president trump and the pandemic. tonight which will feature a speech by former first lady michelle obama comes just as a new cbs news battleground tracker poll shows gentlemen biden leading the president among likely voters. not only who will vote this november but how they will cast their ballot will also be front and center tonight. today's democrats hand picked postmaster general trying to slow down mail delivery and at

the same time more americans than ever are expected to vote by mail, tonight the speaker of the house is calling it sabotage. congress is calling on the head of the postal service to testify next week, and some democrats are asking the fbi to investigate. and as we come on the air tonight there is also breaking news about the pandemic. the university of north carolina say sts sending its students back home and going virtual. this is just weeks after reopening. 130 student there have tested positive for coronavirus in the last week. amid growing alarm nationwide that college students are being social without distancing. and leading to those skyrocketing infections. there is a lot of new reporting to get to tonight and our team of correspondents have all of latest news. cbs's ed o'keefe will lead off our coverage with a preview of the big night ahead. good evening, ed. >> good evening, tonight democrats are supposed to be gathering for the first night of their convention in the battle ground stawt of wisconsin. instead they will be participating virtually. you'll hear from party leaders all across the country.

instead of thousands of cheering democrats, balloon drops and rousing speeches, the party will kick things off virtually tonight showcasing one of its biggest stars, michelle obama. >> i know joe. >> in prerecorded remarks the former first lady says biden has what it takes. >> he will make smart plans and manage a good team. and he will govern as someone who has lived a life that the rest of us can recognize. >> biden's top primary rival bernie sanders who campaign hopes will did will also speak and four republicans set to encourage other gop voters to switch sides and defeat the president. >> i'm confident that joe biden will protect the country. >> biden got a boost today when republican miles taylor former senior trump administration official endorsed him and excused mr. trump of using his office for-- including trying to cut wildfire funding for california because voter there opposed him in 2016.

>> a lot of times things you wanted to do, not only were impossible but in many cases illegal. >> biden leads the president in most national polls but the latest cbs news battleground tracker shows democrats still lag republicans when it comes to enthusiasm about voaght, something the party hopes to address this week. they are relying on female prime time tv stars including eva longoria and julia louis-dreyfus to emcee the night of the con vex. biden sat dune with cardi b in hopes of convincing millions of her fans to get out and vote. >> your generation and the young millenials beyond that, they can own this. they can own this outcome. >> president trump will counter each day of the democratic convention with his own political event. he barn stormed from minnesota and wisconsin today. >> nobody is going to want to cover sleepy joe. we'll end up with one very boring socialist country that will go to hell. >> o'donnell: and ed joins us now with more on that question, how is the democratic party

hoping to address that enthusiasm gap that exists. >> norah, tonight at least they will be relying on the former first lady and bernie sanders to bear witness to joe biden's character. former first lady expected to talk about what she saw over his eight years as vice president, and sanders is expected to talk about biden's open mindedness and willingness to embrace more progressive ideas. that appearance with cardi b and interviews that kamala harris gave over the weekend to women's publications are all designed to motivate younger, minority and female voters thatdemocrats know they will need in order to win in november. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thank you. and a pranling note, we will have live coverage of the convention starting tonight at 10 eastern, 9 central and 7 pa susk. hope you will join us tonight and all week long. the postal service is warning all 50 states in the district of columbia that it can't ensure that mail had be in ballots will be delivered in time to be couldn'ted this november. that is why speaker pelosi is calling the house back on a saturday to try and fix it.

nancy cordes reports. >> facing protests and mounting lawsuits, postmaster general louis dejoy agreed today to go before congress next week. democrats want to grill him about the removal of collection boxes and sorting machines around the country. >> they're dismantling the post office before our eyes and this is the way fascists do things. >> postal officials insists they have simply been making adjustments due to declining mail volume but they say given the recent customer concerns, they will post poan removing boxes for a period of 90 days. that was not goods enough for house speaker nancy pelosi who wants to pass a bill in weekend blocking any change that would prevent the postal service from meeting its service standards. >> i am very scared of that mail system. >> like millions of americans, jacqueline coleman of maryland is now trying to figure out what to do. she normally votes at the school

diabetes and in a pandemic wants to play it safe. >> i am hoping and praying that we will be able to vote by mail and our votes will be counted. >> are you worried they won't be? >> yes, very worried. >> today two house democrats sent a letter urging the fbi to look into whether postmaster general dejoy, a major trump donor deliberately slowed the passage of mail to affect mail-in balloting. >> i have encouraged everybody speed up the mail, not slow the mail. >> president trump has made it clear he is suspicious of mail-in voting but the senate's republican leader mitch mcconnell said today he does not fear share that view. he thinks the postal service should get a cash infusion of $10 billion from congress. democrats want it to be 25 billion. norah? >> o'donnell: nancy cordes on capitol hill, thank you. we'll turn to the coronavirus

pandemic and the nation's staggering new death toll. tonight the u.s. has surpassed 170,000 deaths from covid and is closing in on 5.5 million cases. tis was the first day at school in some parts of the country. and tonight an outbreak at one major university, unc chapel hill is forcing all 19,000 undergraduate students to go entirely to remote learning, here's cbs's mireya villarreal. >> with scenes like this at the university of north carolina chapel hill, if this were a test of whether students could adhere to masks and social distancing requirements, it is clear many would fail. >> i mean there is still parties going on, there is still people not wearing masks. >> it lead to a blunt editorial in stowed's student newspaper. >> we all saw this coming, it read. we're angry and we're scared. late today the university moved all of its undergrad classes online after 130 students tested positive in the last week.

and a warning about younger kids who are returning to school. >> we certainly see that there can be more severe damage to the heart. >> dr. nicholas rister is a disease specialist in fort worth. >> they are being very social. they are not distancing. >> i worry that we will see an increase especially in the population, because they're just not going to effectively social distance. >> today white house task force member dr. deborah birx told a round table in arkansas that the u.s. should have responded like european countries who were hit hard, hunkered down and recovered. >> i wish that when we went into lockdown we looked like italy. but when italy locked down, i mean people weren't allowed out of their houses. >> but a new covid test could be a game changer. researchers at yale university3 have received fda approval for a saliva test far less instreusive-- intrusive than the nasal swabitss than three hours and an accuracy

rate of 94 percent. a cheerful moment in new york as 33 year old tito velasquez left the hospital today. he arrived in april near death, barely breathing, suffering a stroke and blood infection while admitted. doctors calling his survival nothing short of miraculous. the university of notre dame is also reporting a spike, at least 58 cases since they started school earlier this month. here in fort worth, school started today and everyone is required to wear a mask on campus. so far they have only reported 14 cases involving students and staff, norah? >> o'donnell: mireya villarreal, thank you. schools in georgia were among the first to reopen this stumer-- summer and at least three districts, they are already seeing large outbreaks. some parents blame the crisis on policies on the use of wearing protective face masks in school. tonight's cbs's mark strassmann kicked off our series, the new

normal, back to school reporting from the hot zone of georgia. >> there could be several kids in our school right now who have >>rsope terhune and ryle meadows are covid scared. jefferson city high typical for georgia, masks are only recommended. the girls say maybe half the students wear one. >> every single day i think that there is less and less kids wearing masks. >> they started a petition, mandate masks. roughly 2,000 people signed it already. >> why are the masks so important to you? >> i just don't understand like why everyone wouldn't want to wear one to keep other people safe. >> in georgia's cherokee county seniors at etowah high, not one mask in the picture. remember this folt owe at noruls jammed the hallway like a drake concert. at least 35 people here have since tested positive but manyk. one repeated false information that paulding county school board meeting. >> we do not have enough

evidence to support wearing-- children wearings masks, we don't have enough evidence to mandate that. >> georgia's red hot for covid averaging around 3,000 new cases a day but only 43 of the state's 181 school districts mandate masks for teachers and students. >> to say that face masks are not enforceable is a lie. >> state representative beth moore launched report my school. this whistle-blower email account got more than 800 complaints, many from teachers. >> they're being told if they don't like it they should just quit their job. >> meadows and terhune worry crowded hallways will spread the virus. >> i feel like it's inevitable that it's going to happen to or school. >> it did in cherokee county, for the first two weeks of school more than 1700 students and staff were quarantined. at least 120 people tested positive. mark strassmann, cbs news, jackson county, georgia. >> o'donnell: in california tonight an outbreak of wildfires has threatened thousands of

homes an state power officials say more than 3 million homes could face rolling blackouts amid a smootherring heatwave made worse by freak thunderstorms here's jonathan vigliotti. >> extreme weather is bringing fire and even ice to the west. arizona pummeled by hail. >> in northern california, a weekend lightning storm ignited more than 1 hrn fyre-- 100 fires, in colorado fires claimed 125,000 acres. >> that is an actual tornado. >> and for the first time in history the national weather service warned of fire-induced tornadoes near the nevada california border. the blaze creating its own weather system. >> tonight more than 40 million people under heat warnings across ten states including death valley, california, where the temperature reached 130 degrees, the hottest temperature ever recorded on the planet. with 18,000 acres already destroyed, the lake fire in los

angeles county forced thousands to evacuate. those spared by fire couldn't escape the heat, statewide some 300,000 californians plunged into darkness after the power was cut to save energy. firefighters are facing triple digit heat for the rest of the week along with residents who are now being asked to reduce their energy consumption during the day to avoid an energy emergency. easier said than done when the temperature where we are right now is 100 degreeses. norah. >> o'donnell: jonathan vigliotti, thank you. tonight a former u.s. intelligence officer is in custody charged with spying for china. the justice department alleged that alexander mall was caught on a video on a sting operation posing as a chien spy, they say he gave classified documents and sensitive information about cia employees. >> there is so much more news ahead on tonight's cbs evening news.

will a judge send tv star lori locklin to jail? why prosecutors say she deserves to spend months behind bars. plus have investigators solved one of the biggest murders to ever hit the music industry? and an nfl team makes history with a new leader hoping to make gains on the field and bring change to a troubled franchise. (birds chirping)

(woman chattering) - [narrator] ordering dinner for the family? (family gasps) rewarded with a side of quiet. (baby murmuring) grubhub rewards you, (scooter horn honking) get a free delivery perk when you order. (doorbell rings) - [group] grubhub. >> actress lori locklin and her husband face-- the government today requested two morchs in prison for locklin, five months for her husband, and 400,000 dollars in fines. the couple pleaded guilty in may to paying half a million dollars to get their daughters in to usc on bogus rowing recruit. tonight there is a breakthrough in the long unsolved murder of one of hip-hop's early stars. prosecutors have indicted two men in the killing of jayson mizell known as jam master jay

from the rap group run dmc, shot in cold blood nearly 18 years ago. they allege it started from a dispute of the sale of 10 kilos of cocaine. the nfl washington football team has fired jason wright as team president making him the first african-american in league history to hold that post. wright is a former nfl player and was recently a partner in a consulting firm. will help lead a team reeling from recent charges of sexual harassment in the front office. >> coming up next, another historic hiring as a ballet star moves to the head of the class. alright, i brought in ensure max protein to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. [grunting noise] i'll take that. woohoo! 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. ensure max protein. with nutrients to support immune health.

ensure max protein. toi'm releasing a plan to save lives in the months ahead.irus. we need to increase federal support for testing, doubling the number of drive-thru testing sites. we absolutely need a clear message from the very top of our federal government that everyone needs to wear a mask in public. every single frontline worker should have the personal protective equipment that they need to be safe. we need to support schools and childcare programs so parents, if and when they can return to work, are confident that their children will be safe and cared for. and finally, we need to protect the populations most at risk: our seniors, vulnerable populations with pre-existing conditions. we need real plans, real guidelines, with uniform nationwide standards. it's a simple proposition folks, we're all in this together. we gotta fight this together. we'll emerge from this stronger because we did it together. i'm joe biden and i approve this message.

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think your copd medicine is doing enough? maybe you should think again. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy. we know times are hard and we're here for you. find support at trelegy.com. >> o'donnell: aesha ash has made a career breaking barriers in ballet. and she's doing it again tonight. here's cbs's elaine quijano. >> after 86 years new york city's famed school of american ballet is making history. not on the stage but in the >>nkt your shoulders, and lift. >> when aesha ash becomes the school's first black female permanent faculty member. >> what is the difference you hope to make for your students.

>> i feel that i have the awareness now of dancers who are struggling and sort of see that self-doubt, kind of creeping in. >> as a teenager she had those self-doubts in a school with a mostly white student population. >> you when you look at performancesk when you look at footage, when you see the images on the wallsk are everything but your own, that is saying something to the dancers around. >> but she persevered, earning a spot with the new york city balletk one of only a few dancers of color. jonathan stafford the school's new artistic director says hearing ash's painful experiences helped him face hard truths. >> it really lit a fire under us at the school and the company to really dig in to the work and look at all of our policies and practices and unconscious bias and how we make decisions. >> ash acknowledges that it isn't perfect. >> we can't run away from the

ugly, the uncomfortable and i think we are seeing that in a society as a whole right now, is that we can in longer close our eyes. >> a historic step already making a difference. elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> o'donnell: ash begins her new role in september with socially distant classes in the studio and online. we'll be right back. well, almost. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. all otc pain relievers including volthave one thing in common none are proven stronger or more effective against pain than salonpas patch large there's surprising power in this patch salonpas dependable, powerful relief. hisamitsu. and your health is key to that. centrum supports your body with vitamin c and zinc to help maintain your immune system today

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>> o'donnell: on tomorrow's cbs evening news, pandemic pod, how parents are banning together to hire their own teachers but what about families who can't afford that. and a reminder, set your dvr so you can watch us later, that is tonight's cbs evening news, i'm norah o'donnell in our nation's capitol. cbs news coverage of the democratic national convention begins tonight at 10:00 eastern, 9:00 central. hope to see you then. good night.

this is the cbs overnight news. >> the postal service is warning that it cannot ensure that mail-in ballots are counted in -- seven times he declared emergencies, b -- sending money direct defiance of congress. where does it begin and end? >> the power of the president is enormous. >> i have the absolute right to

declare a national emergency. >> this president is not bashful in describing powers that go well beyond simple declarations. >> the authority is total and that's the way it has to be. >> it's total? >> it's total. >> there's some restraints on most presidential powers. >> i have a right to do a lot of tings that people don't know about. >> we cannot know for sure, but what the president appears to be referring to is his had presidential emergency documents. former senator gary hart. >> i have had securitier clearances for the better part of 50 years and been in and out of national security matters during that half century are, i had never heard of the secret powers. >> do you know what they are? now that you have heard of them? >> only vaguely due to research done at the brennon center for

justice at new york university law school. what the secret powers are, is suspension of the constitution, basically. and that's what is worrying particularly on the eve of the national election. these are essentially presidential orders that are drafted in anticipation of a range of hypothetical worse cases scenarios. >> the brendan research that was referred to has been spear headed by elizabeth g oimptoiti. several times, during his administration president trump has made elusions to secret powers that he has that we don't knab is he makinghaup >> not exactly. and what's alarming about that is that no one really knows what the limits